Eastern Europe bristles after Cologne

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Eastern European governments were against taking in Muslim refugees before the events in Cologne took place. Now, they feel vindicated in their resistance and have redoubled their opposition.

Whether Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary or Slovakia – governments and media in those countries are of one opinion: What happened in Cologne was just a matter of time.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico put it more clearly than all the rest, perhaps because the Social Democrat wants to secure his party’s absolute majority in national parliamentary elections on March 5.

“That’s what happens when you let migrants in,” Fico told journalists on Thursday. “We don’t want to let anything like that happen to us.”

Fico sees the problem, above all, with Muslims. His solution: It would be best if they didn’t even enter the country. He was given rhetorical cover by important Slovakian media outlets – significantly, even from left-liberal newspapers.

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